Storing data in a system memory for a subsequent cache flush

ABSTRACT

Embodiments relate to storing data to a system memory. An aspect includes accessing successive entries of a cache directory having a plurality of directory entries by a stepper engine, where access to the cache directory is given a lower priority than other cache operations. It is determined that a specific directory entry in the cache directory has a change line state that indicates it is modified. A store operation is performed to send a copy of the specific corresponding cache entry to the system memory as part of a cache management function. The specific directory entry is updated to indicate that the change line state is unmodified.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/495,383, filed Jun. 13, 2012, the content of which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to a computing system having acache and a system memory, and more specifically, to a computing systemfor storing data from the cache to the system memory in anticipation ofa subsequent cache flush.

In a computer system, it may become necessary to evict data from acache, which is commonly referred to as a cache flush. For example,cache flushes may be necessary during a dynamic storage re-allocationevent. As part of the operation of the cache flush, a directory statefor each cache location (also referred to as a cache entry) is searchedto determine whether the cache location contains valid data, and if so,if the data has been modified since accessed from the system memory ofthe computer system. Any cache locations that contain valid data thathas not been modified since being accessed from the system memory of thecomputer system may simply have the directory state updated to mark thecache locations as invalid. However, cache locations that containmodified data first have a copy of the data stored back to the systemmemory before the directory state is updated.

Cache flushes generally need to be performed in a quiesced state (i.e.,pausing or altering the state of running processes on the computersystem) to avoid re-populating the cache location with new data as thecache flush is being performed. Thus, it is generally important that thecache flush be completed relatively quickly. However, as cache sizeshave continued to grow, the amount of time to process all of the entriesin the cache has continued to grow as well, which results in a longerperiod of time processors are in a quiesced state, thus impactingoverall system performance.

It should also be noted that while cache sizes continue to grow in size,the size or width and speed of a bus between the cache and the systemmemory generally has remained about the same. The size and speed of thebus determines how much data may be transferred between the cache andthe system memory in given period of time. Thus, saving each cachelocation to the system memory each time the cache location is updatedmay become time-consuming due to the limited bandwidth of the bus.

SUMMARY

Embodiments include a method, system, and computer program product forstoring data to a system memory. The method includes accessingsuccessive entries of a cache directory having a plurality of directoryentries by a stepper engine, where access to the cache directory isgiven a lower priority than other cache operations. It is determinedthat a specific directory entry in the cache directory has a change linestate that indicates it is modified. A store operation is performed tosend a copy of the specific corresponding cache entry to the systemmemory as part of a cache management function. The specific directoryentry is updated to indicate that the change line state is unmodified.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of thedisclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part ofthe claimed disclosure. For a better understanding of the disclosurewith advantages and features, refer to the description and to thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as embodiments is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages ofthe embodiments are apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a computing system in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 depicts a cache directory in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a mapping of a system memory address to directory entryshown in FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts a table describing the ownership tag shown in FIG. 3 inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 5 depicts a table describing the change line state shown in FIG. 3in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a process flow for illustrating an exemplary method ofoperating the stepper engine in accordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer program product in accordance with anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment for providing a stepper engine in a cache unit isdisclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the stepper engine marksdirectory entries in a cache directory as ‘Unmodified’ in anticipationof a cache flush. Thus, during a cache flush, only a limited amount orsubstantially no directory entries are present in the cache directoryhaving a ‘Modified’ change line state. A limited amount or an absence ofdirectory entries in the cache directory having a ‘Modified’ change linestate will in turn reduce the amount of time needed to perform a cacheflush. This is because there are a limited amount of directory entriesthat need to be sent to the system memory first before being marked as‘Unmodified’, and subsequently evicted. Therefore, the computing systemas described in exemplary embodiments will reduce the time needed toperform a cache flush.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computing system 10 in accordancewith one embodiment. The computing system 10 includes a system memory20, a cache unit 22, and at least one processing unit 24. In theembodiment as shown, N+1 processing units 24 are included (e.g.,processing unit 0 to processing unit N). The processing units 24 are incommunication with the cache unit 22. The cache unit 22 includes a cache30, a cache directory 32, and a stepper engine 34. The cache unit 22 isin communication with the system memory 20 via a bus 40. The cache 30stores copies of data from the most frequently used locations in thesystem memory 20 such that future requests for data from one or more ofthe processing units 24 may be served faster.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary illustration of the cache directory 32. The cachedirectory 32 is organized into Y number of congruence classes (rangingfrom 0 to Y−1) and X number of compartments (ranging from 0 to X−1). Atotal number of directory entries 46 in the cache directory 32 is equalto Y multiplied by X, where there is one directory entry 46 for eachline of data in the cache 30. It should be noted that while anassociative cache having Y congruence classes and X number ofcompartments is described, a direct mapped cache may be used as well.

FIG. 3 illustrates a mapping of a system memory address 50 to a specificdirectory entry 46. As shown, a subset of the system memory address bitsare used to specify which Y congruency class 56 to access while theremaining (address index) address bits are included as part of thedirectory entry 46. Each directory entry 46 also includes an ownershiptag 60 which indicates the ownership state of the line, and a changeline state 62. The change line state 62 indicates whether thecorresponding cache entry of directory entry 46 has been modified sincethe data in the corresponding cache entry contains was last accessedfrom the system memory 20 (shown in FIG. 1), and installed in the cache30.

FIG. 4 is a table describing the ownership tag 60 (shown in FIG. 3).Specifically, if the ownership tag 60 is set to ‘Invalid’ this is anindication that the corresponding cache entry is not valid. If theownership tag 60 is set to ‘Unowned’, this is an indication that thecorresponding cache entry is valid within the cache 30 (shown in FIG.1), and that a copy of the data that the corresponding cache entrycontains does not exist in any of the processor units 24. If theownership tag is set to ‘Owned’, this is an indication that thecorresponding cache entry is valid in the cache 30, and a copy of thedata it contains may also exist in one of the processing units 24.

FIG. 5 is a table describing the change line state 62 (shown in FIG. 3).If the change line state 62 is ‘Unmodified’, this is an indication thatthe data corresponding to the directory entry 46 has not been modifiedsince being accessed from the system memory 20 (shown in FIG. 1) andinstalled into the cache 30 (shown in FIG. 1). If the change line state62 is ‘Modified’, this is an indication that the data corresponding tothe directory entry 46 has been modified since being accessed from thesystem memory 20 and installed into the cache 30.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-5, the stepper engine 34 initiates adirectory lookup of the directory entries 46 located in the cachedirectory 32. The directory lookup is given a lower priority than othercache operations so as not to interfere with normal system operation ofthe computing system 10. The stepper engine 34 is first initialized witha current congruence class of 0. The stepper engine 34 then determinesif any of the directory entries 46 in the current congruence class(e.g., 0) has a change line state 62 that indicates that a specific oneof the directory entries 46 has been modified. Specifically, withreference to FIG. 5, the stepper engine 34 determines if the change linestate 62 is ‘Modified’. If the change line state 62 of any of thedirectory entries 46 within the current congruence class is modified,then the stepper engine 34 performs a store operation. During the storeoperation, a copy of the corresponding data of one of the directoryentries 46 having a ‘Modified’ change line state 62 in the currentcongruence class is sent to the system memory 20.

In one embodiment, a copy of the corresponding data of one of thedirectory entries 46 having a ‘Modified’ change line state 62 is onlysent to the system memory 20 if the ownership tag 60 (shown in FIG. 3)is also set to ‘Unowned’. This indicates that the copy of thecorresponding data for directory entry 46 does not exist in any of theprocessor units 24 (e.g., in a lower level cache in one of theprocessing units 24). The stepper engine 34 is relying on the detectionof the ‘Unowned’ ownership tag 60 as an indication that thecorresponding data for directory entry 46 is unlikely to be modifiedagain by one of the processing units 24. After a copy of thecorresponding data for a directory entry having a ‘Modified’ change linestate 62 is sent to the system memory 20, then the stepper engine 34updates the change line state 62 from ‘Modified’ to ‘Unmodified’.

If the stepper engine 34 determined that none of the directory entriesrequired a copy of corresponding data to be sent to system memory, thestepper engine 34 increments an internal congruence class register (notshown) by one (e.g., from 0 to 1), wrapping back to 0 if the currentcongruence class value is Y−1. If the stepper engine 34 determined thatone of the directory entries required a copy of corresponding data to besent to system memory, then the stepper engine 34 leaves the currentvalue in an internal congruence call register (not shown).

The stepper engine 34 waits for a predetermined amount of time, and thenrepeats the process as described above (e.g., initiating a directorylookup of the directory entries 46 located in the cache directory 32,performing the store operation, and updating the change line state 62from ‘Modified’ to ‘Unmodified’). The stepper engine 34 conditions thecache directory 32 for a subsequent cache flush. The cache flush evictsthe data from the cache 30. Specifically, during a cache flush, thecorresponding data of any directory entries having a ‘Modified’ changeline state 62 are first sent to the system memory 20. Then, theownership tag 60 is set to ‘Invalid’ and the change line state 62 is setto ‘Unmodified’. For directory entries having an ‘Unmodified’ changeline state 62, a cache flush only needs to set the ownership tag 60 to‘Invalid’.

The stepper engine 34 as described will mark the directory entries 46 as‘Unmodified’ in anticipation of a cache flush. Thus, during a cacheflush, there are usually only a limited number or no directory entries46 present in the cache directory 32 having a ‘Modified’ change linestate 62. A limited amount or an absence of directory entries 46 in thecache directory 32 having a ‘Modified’ change line state 62 will reducethe amount of time needed to perform a cache flush, as there are alimited amount of directory entries 46 that need the corresponding datato be sent to the system memory 20 first before being marked as‘Unmodified’.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method 200 ofoperating the stepper engine 34 to mark the directory entries 46 as‘Unmodified’ in anticipation of a cache flush. Referring now to FIGS.1-6, method 200 begins at block 202, where the stepper engine 34 isinitialized with a current congruence class. In one embodiment, thestepper engine 34 is initialized at a congruence class value of 0.Method 200 may then proceed to block 204.

In block 204, the stepper engine 34 accesses the cache directory 32 withthe current congruence class value (e.g., 0) and examines all of thedirectory entries 46 in the current congruence class for X number ofcompartments. Method 200 may then proceed to block 206.

In block 206, the stepper engine 34 determines if any compartments inthe current congruence class include a change line state 62 that is setto ‘Modified’. In addition to the change line state 62, in oneembodiment the stepper engine 34 may also determine if the ownership tag60 is set to ‘Unowned’. In the event the change line state 62 is set to‘Modified’ and the ownership tag 60 is set to ‘Unowned’, method 200 maythen proceed to block 208.

In block 208, a store operation is executed to send a copy of thecorresponding data for one of the directory entries 46 having a‘Modified’ change line state 62 in the current congruence class to thesystem memory 20. Method 200 may then proceed to block 210.

In block 210, the stepper engine 34 updates the change line state 62 forthe same directory entry used in block 208 from ‘Modified’ to‘Unmodified’. Method 200 may then proceed to block 212.

In block 212, the stepper engine 34 waits for a predetermined amount oftime. Method 200 may then proceed back to block 204.

Referring back to block 206, in the event the change line state 62 isnot set to ‘Modified’ (e.g., the change line state is ‘Unmodified’) andthe ownership tag 60 is not set to ‘Unowned’, method 200 may thenproceed to block 214. In block 214, the stepper engine 34 determines ifthe current congruence class is equal to Y−1 (shown in FIG. 2). If thecurrent congruence class is not equal to Y−1, then method 200 proceedsto block 216. In block 216, the current congruence class value isincremented an internal congruence class register (not shown) by one(e.g., from 0 to 1). Method 200 may then proceed to block 212.

If the current congruence class is equal to Y−1, then method 200proceeds to block 218. In block 218, the current congruence class valueis set to zero. Method 200 may then proceed to block 212.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, one or more aspects ofthe present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computerprogram product. Accordingly, one or more aspects of the presentinvention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,”“module” or “system”. Furthermore, one or more aspects of the presentinvention may take the form of a computer program product embodied inone or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable programcode embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readablestorage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example,but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer readable storage medium include the following: anelectrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document,a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Referring now to FIG. 7, in one example, a computer program product 300includes, for instance, one or more storage media 302, wherein the mediamay be tangible and/or non-transitory, to store computer readableprogram code means or logic 304 thereon to provide and facilitate one ormore aspects of the invention.

Technical effects and benefits include only a limited amount orsubstantially no directory entries present in the cache directory 32having a ‘Modified’ change line state. A limited amount or an absence ofdirectory entries 46 in the cache directory 32 having a ‘Modified’change line state will in turn reduce the amount of time needed toperform a cache flush. Thus, the computing system 10 as described inexemplary embodiments will reduce the time needed to perform a cacheflush. Moreover, the computing system 10 as disclosed also leaves a copyof the data in the cache-entries in the cache 30 in an unmodified state,and available to any processing units 24 that are part of the computingsystem 10 prior to a cache flush.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of embodiments. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of embodiments have been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the embodiments in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the embodiments. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples and the practical application, and to enable others ofordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of theembodiments may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object oriented programming language such asJava, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer,partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partlyon the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely onthe remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remotecomputer may be connected to the user's computer through any type ofnetwork, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network(WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (forexample, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

Aspects of embodiments are described above with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or schematic diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems)and computer program products according to embodiments. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or blockdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrationsand/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer programinstructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or blockdiagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, whichcomprises one or more executable instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in somealternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occurout of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware andcomputer instructions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method for storing data toa system memory, the method comprising: accessing successive entries ofa cache directory having a plurality of directory entries by a stepperengine, access to the cache directory being given a lower priority thanother cache operations; determining, by the stepper engine, that aspecific directory entry in the plurality of directory entries in thecache directory has a change line state that indicates that it ismodified; performing a store operation to send a copy of cache dataassociated with the specific directory entry to the system memory aspart of a cache management function; and updating the specific directoryentry to indicate the change line state is unmodified.
 2. The computerimplemented method of claim 1 further comprising performing a storeoperation by the stepper engine to send a copy of the cache dataassociated with the specific directory entry to the system memory basedon an ownership tag of the specific directory entry being set to anunowned state.
 3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein theaccessing the cache directory includes accessing a current congruenceclass of the cache directory.
 4. The computer implemented method ofclaim 3 wherein the stepper engine determines that the specificdirectory entry of the current congruence class is modified based on anyof the plurality of directory entries within the current congruenceclass of the cache directory having a change line state that indicatesthe specific directory entry is modified.
 5. The computer implementedmethod of claim 3 wherein the stepper engine initializes at a currentcongruence class that is 0 before accessing the current congruence classof the cache directory.
 6. The computer implemented method of claim 1further comprising incrementing an internal congruence class register byone, waiting a predetermined amount of time after updating the specificdirectory entry, and initiating another access to the cache directory.7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the cachedirectory is one of an associative cache and a direct mapped cache.
 8. Acomputer program product for storing data to a system memory, thecomputer program product comprising: a tangible storage medium readableby a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by theprocessing circuit for performing a method comprising: accessingsuccessive entries of a cache directory having a plurality of directoryentries by a stepper engine, access to the cache directory being given alower priority than other cache operations; determining, by the stepperengine, that a specific directory entry in plurality of directoryentries in the cache directory has a change line state that indicates itis modified; performing a store operation to send a copy of cache dataassociated with the specific directory entry to the system memory aspart of a cache management function; and updating the specific directoryentry to indicate the change line state is unmodified.
 9. The computerprogram product of claim 8 further comprising performing a storeoperation by the stepper engine to send a copy of the cache dataassociated with the specific directory entry to the system memory basedon an ownership tag of the specific directory entry being set to anunowned state.
 10. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein theaccessing the cache directory includes accessing a current congruenceclass of the cache directory.
 11. The computer program product of claim10 wherein the stepper engine determines that the specific directoryentry of the current congruence class is modified based on any of theplurality of directory entries within the current congruence class ofthe cache directory having a change line state that indicates thespecific directory entry is modified.
 12. The computer program productof claim 10 wherein the stepper engine initializes at a currentcongruence class that is 0 before accessing the current congruence classof the cache directory.
 13. The computer program product of claim 8further comprising incrementing an internal congruence class register byone, waiting a predetermined amount of time after updating the specificdirectory entry, and initiating another access to the cache directory.